WORLD CLASSIC BASEBALL NEWS FROM NHK WORLD

"Defending champions Japan are headed off for the 2nd round of the World Baseball Classic. Japan ended runner-up to South Korea in the first round in Tokyo. The Japanese team, led by manager Tatsunori Hara, left for the United States on a chartered plane shortly after Monday midnight. Hours earlier, the team narrowly lost to South Korea in the final Pool A match to decide the first-round winners. The close-rivals played 2 games in the double-elimination first round. Japan routed South Korea 14-2 in the initial game on Saturday, but South Korea pulled back on Monday to beat Japan 1-0. The second round will open in San Diego on Sunday. Japan will play the top team from pool B, which includes powerhouse Cuba. Japan's all-star lineup includes Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Both were members of the team that won the inaugural WBC title in 2006."

Both teams now move on to Round 2 in San Diego, which begins on March 15.

To follow Japans progress in the World Baseball Classic go to

http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/index.jsp?team=jpn

New Flickr Link

Hey Guys! Check out our new Flickr Link at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lianadante/
You can view a slide show of our club photos, print the photos you like and share the link with your friends and family.

Remember to check out the blog during the next two weeks for news of Japan, short language lessons, prize challenges and Japanese Cuisine Tutorials.
Good luck with your tests, have a great Spring Break and I will see you again on the 25th!
Ja Matta-
Liana Sensei

It's a Sumi-e Thing

This week in club we did one of my favorite things--painting. Still, it was not like any other type of painting, it was a type of Japanese scroll painting called Sumi-e. It was fun, since we got to put whatever our hearts desired on the scroll.

We learned how some people spend life times perfecting their skills. Even so, my classmates and I did a great job on all the scrolls. The scroll paintings ranged from Howling Wolfs, to flowers, to rain drops.

Everyone was very creative with theirs. Many also learned how to write their names in Japanese. We also learned about the many different types of utensils commonly used to make these scrolls, and how every stroke of a brush, depending on how tick or thin, could represent something different. This was Indeed an interesting lesson.

Until Next week, Sayonara

Jose....san

Origami the Traditional Japanese Craft

In our Japanese club we learned a new creation the Chinese invented and the Japanese perfected which is called Origami. Origami is a traditional Japanese craft and it is used to create 3 dimensional figures out of paper. We did origami in Japanese club and it was not hard to learn. We learned to make new creations out of paper; we made foldable cups, Swans, and Happi Coats.
Martin Garcia